The path to freedom
by Kyrie Lorelei
Summary: There were consequences when they gave Ichigo his powers back.  One-shot. Spoiler up to chapter 474.


**A one-shot created quite spontaneously!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach**

**Read up to chapter 474 to understand this.. Therefore spoiler up to 474..**

**.-.**

He kept quiet as the man ranted. What he was about to say was probably obvious. Soul society had never been kind to him or to fellow shinigamis'. He had never given it a thought until now; until he had nearly two years of time being able to think. Maybe he shouldn't have defeated Aizen? Maybe the soul-society would have changed for the better? It was quite strange that Aizen hadn't felt the want to throw it in his face while he was still a spontaneous little fifteen year old.

"More accurately, It doesn't matter to them whether you're a benefit or not to them." The man tilted his head cockily and Ichigo felt that time was soon to be up. Soon.. Too soon.

"A benefit or a danger… They award you the badge either way." Obviously. He could see beneath the man's mask, the anger, the revenge pulsing in him. He could breathe it in the air, the hot anger. But there was also so much bitterness, repressed sadness and Ichigo suddenly wondered what could have been done to him? What could have been done to this ex-substitute shinigami? The reason why they had given him back his powers was mainly because they owed him a huge favor and such a thing couldn't be good in the long run. They gave him his power back so they could have a weapon in the human world, a very strong one. One that could be stronger than them, but considering… He would do anything for them. This time around Ichigo wouldn't, not now. Not when time was running out just by minutes.

"The badge's formal name is 'substitute shinigami combat approval license'. It's a license approving you to fight in the real world" Approving? Hah, only by the licensed shinigamis that is.

"I know" Ichigo breathed out, not letting anything betraying his mask. Not even the fact that it was only four minutes left. He sighed, only four minutes and life at ordinary basis would change. As a shinigami or human, even as a hallow. Maybe not for them, but for him it would. They were so idiotic; the shinigamis. But he was grateful for what they had done, making him feel the power, the adrenaline rushing through him, feeling alive again. Even if it was for the last time.

"But have you ever experienced its authority at all?" No, obviously not. They couldn't go around making substitute shinigamis daily. Or maybe they could, he would not know. More accurately, he did not care. Not now, when it was only four minutes left. Barely four. He took a deep breath and they must have assumed it was for some other reason. He could feel Ishida tensing up while that brain of his worked as fast as it could. He was brilliant, Ishida. But he would probably never know that Ichigo thought so now, would he?

"You're saying that the badge has some other purpose?" He wanted the truth after all, even if it was so little time left. Oh, how he had pondered on it. The shinigamis were not kind. What was their purpose? He had decided that it would not be an answer he would like, but when was it ever? It was understandable that Urahara left that world after all.. He would miss Urahara's wit. A lot.

"That's right." The man continued. What had they done to poor Ginjo to get him to this state? Filled with so much revenge.

"The badge's true purpose is to observe and to restrict you. The badge lets soul-society know where you are at all times and additionally whenever you have the badge with you… Your reiatsu was suppressed. Didn't you think it was strange? Your reiatsu is so powerful as a shinigami that it rampages whenever you're angry. But it didn't do _anything _while in human form and when you used your badge to activate your fullbring. Your reiatsu came rushing out of the badge itself? Or when training for your fullbring; you heard your friends' voices through the badge?" A link to the soul-society itself, how very odd. But it was Rukia he had heard and she had given him her power first, not that that meant anything since he had gotten his _own _powers.

"The badge is at once a surveillance device for soul-society and a device to absorb, analyze, and control your reiatsu. You were given your badge to control you. That's the truth" He wondered how Ginjo knew so much, but decided not to dwell in the emotional pain of the other. Ichigo sighed again. Three minutes left.

"And don't tell me you never had this suspicion. You merely suppressed it. Subconsciously or not. Those that you thought, baring your soul would never betray you" He had not thought that, but Ginjo must have. Most of them would have killed him on orders. Soul-society was on no levels a democracy.

"You only wanted to believe. Didn't you? Ichigo." Oh, yes he had wanted to, but now the older man was spilling all the secrets. Ah well, it was probably inevitable.

"Let me tell you the identity of the man behind this scheme. Captain of the 13th devision; Ukitake Yushirou" Ukitake? Hah, the most unbelievable person. But probably true, the supposed kind man was probably a skilled manipulator. Some people were like that, manipulating people was their nature.

"We were both conned! By the most peaceful man of the Gotei 13 himself! Ichigo! He wanted to observe us, to control us, and use us as soul-society's pawns! And above all, to execute us should we rebel!"

"Kurosaki-" Ginjo and he paid Ishida no mind, not yet anyways. Time was soon up and he did not know the outcome of what would happen when the time was truly up. He had his guesses, which he considered to be the truth but if what it would result in ..He had no idea. There was only two minutes left now.

"This truth! Is known by everyone in the soul-society except you! Ichigo they're leaving you to die!" He could feel them through the power they had given him, some; nothing, others; pain.

Ishida had started racing towards them with such speed, speed as if his life was on the line. Life was not had nothing to do with speed this time around. It was merely on time.

"Don't listen to him, Kurosaki!" Everyone's emotion or indifference through the link, it hurt in his mind. Ishida's shrill voice ringing in his ears, ripping. Ginjo's face crazed with revenge made it stung in his eyes. So little time, so little time, he wanted to claw his eyes out.

"SHUT UP!" and he locked his expression, his feelings, everything, under the usual mask of determination. Looking up at the scene he simply said it "Bankai."

The thin black katana filled him with power that normally should stop rising around now, but it kept rising and rising. Just as he had expected. Ichigo sighed, so this was it. He wondered if he could just close his eyes and wait 'till it was over. But he reckoned he needed to explain, he desperately needed to, to everyone.

His reiatsu started breaking the game's walls. Breaking like black shards, until everything was normal. Or as normal as it could get. The Shinigami's stood around him, his spiritual pressure didn't lash out, but it kept on going further and further over normal, over average. The pain sipped in and he screamed a shrilling scream in even his ears. It felt like someone wanted to rip him in shreds from the inside out and making the process very slow. A torturers wild dream.

It ended as fast as it had started; his mind grew sudden cold, so.. So cold. Ichigo knew he only had moments left. He was empty now, there was no spiritual pressure coming from him. But he could still see the world he had chosen, the world he had condemned himself to suffer in. Maybe it would end now?

Ichigo felt numb, as if someone had drowned him in cold water, then switched it to boiling and kept on doing so for hours. His muscles were as sore as they could get, lying on the ground screaming and trashing didn't make a good picture out of his sanity. But they had all felt his reiatsu spiking unnaturally and then suddenly disappearing.

There were a lot of people there, he must've been screaming longer than he had thought. Only seconds now and he would be gone. When he grabbed tensa zangetsu it would all be over. His friends, or whatever they were, all of them where there. Luckily no one had touched him, not being stupid enough to do so. They would have reduced to something akin to dust. Urahara's mouth was half open and Ichigo knew that the man _knew. _He knew what was going on. Especially since his spiritual pressure was very much gone.

Taking another deep breath Ichigo smiled a sad reserved little smile. Maybe some suspected but no one could truly now the reason behind the smile. Urahara knew though, that man had a mind that no one should dare underestimate. Ichigo felt content, but oh, he would miss it. He would miss it every day of his life. He would miss _them._

"I'm sorry" tears must have somehow filled his eyes when he wasn't thinking about it; now they ran freely down his cheeks. They're eyes grew several sizes, considering his suppressed reiatsu they had thought he had reduced to a normal human again. Bitterly, he admitted he would never be one again. "I'm sorry" He repeated over again, while reaching out for tensa zangestsu.

"No, what, no..no" His father's voice of shock and disbelief stopped him half ways from reaching it, but only for a brief second. He would be destroyed if he didn't grab it now.

As he took a hold of the katana's hilt they gasped. It had attached itself to him as a second body part, growing into his right palm. Power rushed through him and in a millisecond he was on his feet watching as his hair-now reaching beyond his waist started shifting black. He smiled sadly at the fact and looked up at their faces. "I died." he gave a little laugh, wetting his dry lips "..or my human body died, whatever. And even if reiatsu were to be put back in my body and my powers could be retrieved. Actually _all _my powers would be retrieved. After successfully accomplishing the final getsuga tenshou I got two choices, die.. and go away.. I don't know where to though, or lose almost everything" They could now feel the power around him, the power that could manipulate nature itself. A power far beyond human, shinigami, hollow, vizard, anything they had ever seen. It was cracking like a wild flame around the air and soon, seconds away…

"Hah, you could say that you picked the choice for me"

No more suffering, no more pain, hate, betrayal. No more human or any type of emotion that lonely souls felt. Ichigo had started to fade; the power radiating from him- ripping almost through the world had instead started to rip him from the world. From this world at least.

"Kurosaki—"

"I-Ichigo"

"Kurosaki-kun!"

"ICHIGO!"

His power had returned to him, his hollow, tensa zangetsu, old man zangetsu, they finally became what they were supposed to be; him.

Time was up.

He could finally be free.

.-.

***takes a deep breath, smiles briefly* so what did you think?**

**I was being bored so I read the new chapter of bleach and this just went through my head.. or actually I always come up with these things, though I never write them down. Maybe I should start to(?)**

**A review would be appreciated.**


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